Australia's Asian-born population reached one million in 1999, almost four times that of twenty years ago.

Compared with other countries, Australia has a relatively large proportion of immigrants - 24% in 2000, a quarter of whom were born in Asia. Between 1981 and 2000 the Asian-born population of Australia grew steadily, from 276,000 to over a million, and now makes up 6% of Australia's people.

This relatively large number of Asian-born people contribute to many aspects of Australian society. The Asian regions account for over half the world's population and are characterised by huge economic, cultural and social diversity. Consequently, Australians born in Asia are a diverse group, whose contributions reflect their varied backgrounds and cultures.

While the children of Asian-born Australians are not discussed elsewhere in this article, they make up a large group in Australian society (286,000 in 1996). These children inherit elements of their parents' background and culture and, having being born here, are likely to further integrate these into the wider Australian society.

Country of birthStatistics on the size and composition of Australia's Asian-born population presented in this article are drawn from the ABS Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth series, produced annually since 1981 and available in Migration, Australia (cat. no. 3412.0).

Data on usual area of residence and proficiency in spoken English are from the ABS 1999 Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Migrants Survey, which has been conducted every three years since 1984. The scope of this survey is limited to immigrants aged 18 years and over who arrived in Australia after 1980.

In this articleAsian-born Australians refer to residents of Australia (i.e. persons who have lived or intend to live in Australia for one year or more) who were born in any of the three Asian regions as classified in the 1998 Australian Standard Classification of Countries for Social Statistics (cat. no. 1269.0). These are:

Although the term Asia applies to a broad range of countries including some in the Middle East and the former USSR, the data in this article are limited to people born in the countries outlined above.

Movement to AustraliaAlthough limited earlier in the 20th century, immigration from Asian regions increased following the relaxation in the early 1970s of Australia's Immigration Restriction Act (1901). This period has also seen a shift in the focus of our economic and cultural links away from Europe and towards the Asia-Pacific region (seeAustralian Social Trends 1996, Expanding Links with Asia). Since 1981, most settler arrivals, including the Asian born, have entered Australia under the Migration or Humanitarian Programs. The balance are New Zealand citizens and others such as the overseas-born children of Australian citizens.

ASIAN-BORN AUSTRALIANS

Source: ABS Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth, 1981-2000.

The proportion of settler arrivals in Australia who were born in Asia increased from 24% in 1981 to 34% in 2000, peaking at 51% in 1991. Asian-born settler arrivals outnumbered those born in Europe for the first time in 1984.1

Which countries have Asian-born Australians come from?Of the one million Asian-born Australians in 2000, just over half were born in Southeast Asia, almost a third in Northeast Asia and one fifth in Southern Asia. Since 1981 the populations from Southeast and Southern Asia have increased threefold, while that from Northeast Asia has increased fivefold.

In 2000, the three most common countries of birth of Asian-born Australians were Viet Nam (174,400), China (168,100) and the Philippines (123,000). Together these three groups comprised 43% of Asian-born and 10% of all overseas-born Australians.

The countries which make up the ten most common countries of birth of Asian-born Australians have remained virtually unchanged since 1981, with the population for each increasing over the past 20 years. However, some have grown faster than others.

ASIAN-BORN AUSTRALIANS: MAIN SOURCE COUNTRIES AND REGIONS OF BIRTH

1981

1990

2000

Country of birth

'000

%

Country of birth

'000

%

Country of birth

'000

%

India

43.7

1.4

Viet Nam

114.3

2.9

Viet Nam

174.4

3.9

Viet Nam

43.4

1.4

China (excludes SAR's and Taiwan province)

76.1

2.0

China (excludes SAR's and Taiwan province)

168.1

3.7

Malaysia and Brunei

32.5

1.0

Malaysia and Brunei

75.7

1.9

Phillipines

123.0

2.7

China (excludes SAR's and Taiwan province)

26.8

0.9

Phillipines

71.3

1.8

India

110.2

2.4

Sri Lanka

17.9

0.6

India

61.5

1.6

Malaysia and Brunei

97.6

2.2

Indonesia

16.4

0.5

Hong Kong and Macau(a)

51.5

1.3

Indonesia

67.6

1.5

Hong Kong and Macau(a)

16.3

0.5

Sri Lanka

36.3

0.9

Hong Kong and Macau(a)

56.3

1.2

Phillipines

15.8

0.5

Indonesia

33.7

0.9

Sri Lanka

56.0

1.2

Singapore

12.4

0.4

Singapore

25.0

0.6

Korea

41.4

0.9

Myanmar

7.7

0.2

Cambodia

18.9

0.5

Singapore

30.7

0.7

Southeast Asia

157.7

5.1

Southeast Asia

371.2

9.6

Southeast Asia

564.8

12.5

Northeast Asia

56.8

1.8

Northeast Asia

175.3

4.5

Northeast Asia

313.1

6.9

Southern Asia

61.6

2.0

Southern Asia

109.2

2.8

Southern Asia

200.0

4.4

All Asian regions

276.0

8.9

All Asian regions

655.7

16.9

All Asian regions

1,077.8

23.9

Total overseas-born

3,110.9

100.0

Total overseas-born

3,885.6

100.0

Total overseas-born

4,517.3

100.0

(a) Special Administrative Region of China.

Source: ABS Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth, 1981-2000.

The population born in the Philippines has experienced the fastest growth, with the current population almost eight times that of 1981. In 2000, it was the third most common country of birth of Asian-born Australians. Many of the Philippines-born in Australia were women who married Australian men.2 Many also left the Philippines for Australia because of political instability during the period of martial law in the 1970s and 1980s. In some cases these immigrants were later followed by their families, to reunite in Australia.

The China-born population in Australia has increased sixfold since 1981. Most of this increase came in two waves and can be traced to the political situation in China in the late 1980s, when many Chinese in Australia studying on temporary visas were granted permanent residency. The second wave occurred with these people sponsoring their families to join them. The return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule may also have added to growth, because some Hong Kong-born may now name China as their country of birth.

The Viet Nam-born population in Australia quadrupled in the two decades to 2000, making Viet Nam the most common country of birth of Asian-born Australians. This increase was largely the result of the arrival of many refugees following the Viet Nam War, who subsequently brought out their families, and the recent resettlement of more refugees.

Age/sex profileThe Asian-born population is concentrated heavily in the 20-44 years age group. This is partly because of the large proportion of immigrants who arrive as young adults and the recent increase in immigration from Asian regions to Australia. The total overseas-born population includes groups from other regions who have been settling in Australia over a much longer period. As a result, the age distribution of the total overseas-born population is older than that of the Asian-born population.

AGE DISTRIBUTION, 2000

Source: ABS Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth, 2000

Both the Asian-born and total overseas-born populations have low proportions of children, which can be partly attributed to many immigrants having their children once in Australia. These children are included in the Australian-born population.

While the median age of the total Asian-born population (35.9 years) is similar to the national median (35.2 years), there is considerable variation between individual Asian countries of birth. Populations which have been established in Australia over a longer period (such as those from Sri Lanka and India) have median ages over 40 years. On the other hand, the median ages of more recently arrived groups such as those born in Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong, are under 30 years. Their relatively young age profiles may also be related to the large numbers of students from these countries currently studying in Australia on a long-term basis (12 months or more).

Females outnumber males for most countries of birth of Asian-born Australians, to a greater extent than in the total population. This is most evident among the Philippines-born, where the males are outnumbered by almost two to one. The populations from Singapore and Malaysia also have relatively low proportions of males.

SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS, ASIAN-BORN AND ALL AUSTRALIANS, 2000

Median age

Males per 100 females

Country of birth

years

ratio

Sri Lanka

41.3

103.2

China

41.1

93.1

India

40.2

118.3

Philippines

38.0

59.0

Viet Nam

36.5

98.7

Malaysia

30.9

88.8

Korea

30.0

98.3

Indonesia

27.3

95.6

Singapore

26.0

87.1

Hong Kong

25.4

93.5

Southeast Asia

34.4

84.4

Northeast Asia

36.2

92.0

Southern Asia

38.9

115.5

All Asian regions

35.9

91.8

Total Australian population

35.2

98.5

Source: ABS Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth, 2000.

Where do they live?Asian-born Australians are highly urbanised. In 1999, 91% of the Asian-born people who arrived in Australia after 1980 and were aged 15 and over, lived in capital cities, compared with 84% of all overseas-born, and 63% of all Australians in this age group. Those born in Singapore and Viet Nam were most likely to live in the capital cities (98%). Those born in Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan had the highest proportions living outside the capital cities, ranging from 19% to 27%.

New South Wales and Victoria both have high proportions of the Asian-born population. Almost half of Asian-born Australians aged 15 years and over, and who arrived after 1980, lived in NSW, where the most common countries of birth were China, Viet Nam and the Philippines. Victoria's Asian-born population is also large (over a quarter of Australia’s Asian-born population) and comes mainly from China, Viet Nam and Sri Lanka.3

USUAL REGION OF RESIDENCE, ASIAN-BORN AND ALL AUSTRALIANS(a), 1999

Capital city

Balance of State

Country of birth

%

%

Singapore

98.3

1.7

Viet Nam

97.5

2.5

Hong Kong

93.6

6.4

China

92.8

7.2

Malaysia

92.2

7.8

India

91.9

8.1

Sri Lanka

91.1

8.9

Indonesia

81.5

18.5

Phillipines

78.0

22.0

Japan

73.4

26.6

Southeast Asia

89.5

10.5

Northeast Asia

92.9

7.1

Southern Asia

90.7

9.3

All Asian regions

90.9

9.1

Total Australian population

63.0

37.0

(a) Asian-born populations are limited to migrants aged 15 and over who arrived in Australia after 1980.

Proficiency in spoken EnglishPeople's proficiency in English can affect their ability to access services and education, find employment and participate more fully in Australian society. However, continuing the use of one's home language can also be important, for reasons of cultural continuity and identity.

In 1999, 31% of Asian-born Australians aged 15 years and over who arrived after 1980 usually spoke only English at home. Many of these people were born in India, Malaysia and the Philippines. This may be linked to greater use of English and access to higher education in their country of birth, as well as their propensity to live with Australians who speak only English.

Almost 24% of the Asian-born population who did not usually speak English at home reported they could not speak English well and a further 7% did not speak any English. One third of those who either did not speak any English, or could not speak English well, were born in Viet Nam. Of all Viet Nam-born, 20% spoke no English. Consistent with this, they also had the lowest proportion who usually spoke English at home at just 2%.3 This could be explained in part by the high proportion of Viet Nam-born in Australia who have come as refugees or to reunite with their families, rather than having entered via the skilled stream, for which English language proficiency is one of the criteria.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

Proportionally, Australia has one of the world's largest Asian-born populations (comprising 6% of the total Australian population in 2000), although greater numbers of people who were born in Asia are found in countries such as the USA and Canada. European nations tend to have far smaller Asian-born populations.

ASIAN-BORN(a) POPULATIONS IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Proportion of Asian-born in:

Total Asian-born

Total population

Immigrant population

Country(b)

%

%

'000

Australia

5.6

23.9

1,077.8

USA

2.0

25.2

4,979.0

Canada

5.2

31.4

1,562.8

UK

0.8

23.7

490.0

France

0.4

6.3

227.0

Italy

0.4

18.2

225.5

New Zealand

3.3

15.3

117.8

Sweden

1.0

17.3

90.3

(a) Data for the UK, France, Italy and Sweden refers to Asian nationals who may not have been born in Asia.(b) Data for Australia refers to 2000, data for the UK, Italy and Sweden refers to 1997, data for Canada and New Zealand refers to 1996 and data for the USA and France refers to 1990.